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SCOTUS rules 5-4 against D.C. gun law

The Supreme Court officially says that the Constitution protects the possession of firearms for self-defense purposes in a predictably split decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. (They’re technically affirming a lower court’s decision, here.) I’ll link to some people wiser and better-educated on the issue than me: There’s lots on the first page at Hit & Run. The Volokh Conspiracy‘s server is crawling. Cato’s main site has content, but their blog is a little behind.

The obvious significance here is that, for the first time since the Bill of Rights was ratified, the right to bear arms is conclusively interpreted as an individual right and not a collective one tied to militia service.